Prints and faxes from, as well as scans to, a PC. Standalone copier and fax. Automatic document feeder. Wi-Fi.

Cons

No wired network support. Slow.

Bottom Line

The Canon Pixma MX472 Wireless Office All-In-One Printer offers a full set of MFP features in a personal inkjet printer.

Best understood as a minor upgrade to, and variation on, the Canon Pixma MX452 Wireless Office All-in-One Printer, the Canon Pixma MX472 Wireless Office All-in-One Printer ($99.99), is one of only a few multifunction printers (MFPs) in its price range that's aimed more at office rather than home use. That's not to say you can't use it at home, but you may not need some of its office-centric features, like its fax capability. On the other hand, it's a good fit as a personal printer in any size office or in the dual role of home and home-office printer.

//Compare Similar Products

Like the Editors' Choice Brother MFC-J430w, which is discontinued but still available online at this writing, the Pixma MX472 can print and fax from, as well as scan to, a PC, and it can work as a standalone copier and fax machine. For scanning, it offers both a letter-size flatbed and a 30-page automatic document feeder (ADF), which can scan at up to legal size. Somewhat disappointingly, it lacks the ability to scan to a USB key, which is one of the welcome extras that the Canon MX452 offers.

As with the Brother MFC-J430w and Canon MX452, the Pixma MX472 lacks an Ethernet connector but offers Wi-Fi so you can connect to a network. Except for the dual role of home and home-office printer, however, it's unlikely that you'll want to share it on a network because of its limited paper handling. The capacity is a meager 100 sheets, with no duplexer and no upgrade options.

The real advantage of connecting by Wi-Fi to an access point on a network is that it lets you take advantage of the printer's Google Cloud Print support. Also under mobile printing is support for printing over a Wi-Fi connection with AirPrint or with Canon's free iOS and Android apps for printing to and scanning from the printer. In addition, Canon's Access Point mode, which is a proprietary equivalent to Wi-Fi Direct, will let you connect directly between the printer and a mobile device even if the printer isn't on a network.

Setup, Speed, and Output QualityFor my tests, I connected the Pixma MX472 to a system running Windows Vista, using a USB cable. Setup is standard fare when it works properly. However, I ran into a minor issue with a Windows Vista security feature keeping the setup program from running. At this writing, Canon is still investigating the issue, but the company came up with an easy alternative to install the driver and other software. If you run into the same issue, you should be able to get the workaround by calling Canon's tech support number.

The printer's speed on our tests was unimpressive. On our business applications suite (timed using QualityLogic's hardware and software), it came in at only 2.3 pages per minute (ppm), just a touch faster than the Canon MX452, at 2.1 ppm. That's not unusually slow for this price range. The Epson WorkForce WF-2530, for example, managed only 2.6 ppm. However, the Brother MFC-J430w managed nearly twice the speed, at 4.3 ppm, which is one of the reasons it's our Editors' Choice. Photo speed, similarly, was slow but typical for the price, averaging 2 minutes 3 seconds for a 4-by-6.

The printer scores a little better for output quality. Text is at the low end of a tight range where most inkjet MFPs fall, making it good enough for most business needs. Graphics output, similarly, is at the low end of standard, but easily good enough for anything up to and including PowerPoint handouts and the like. Photo quality is easily a match for what you would expect from drugstore prints.

Despite the lackluster speed, the Canon Pixma MX472 Wireless Office All-in-One Printer is a capable personal MFP for the price. Its only real shortcoming compared with the Brother MFC-J430w is speed, which keeps the Brother printer firmly in place as Editors' Choice for personal MFP and makes it the better fit for most office use. That said, the Canon printer offers more than enough to make it a good fit as a personal printer or a home and home-office printer, and it's certainly a reasonable choice.

M. David Stone is an award-winning freelance writer and computer industry consultant. Although a confirmed generalist, with writing credits on subjects as varied as ape language experiments, politics, quantum physics, and an overview of a top company in the gaming industry. David is also an expert in imaging technologies (including printers, monitors, large-screen displays, projectors, scanners, and digital cameras), storage (both magnetic and optical), and word processing. He is a recognized expert on printers, well known within the industry, and has been a judge for...
More »